A Modern Opera
by PrincesseSophie
Summary: erik is a high school student whose only appearance freaks everyone out, will the new girl Christine see his inner beauty?
1. Chapter 1

The Phantom of the Opera (a modern day version)

Chapter 1: Christine

Erik Duval laid his head beside his locker, it was just another horrible, normal day; wake up and stare at his pale white face, his black hair, his big red eyes, and his weird face, it wasn´t deformed, just a little different. He had no idea of where he had gotten such a physical appearance, his parents where completely different. They both had black hair, yes, but his mother´s eyes were blue and his father´s brown. They had always been very cold to him, he didn´ t blame them, he looked like a vampire while everyone else looked human, however, he had a secret talent no one else knew of, he could play music, he loved music, he would go every Tuesday to Hartford Conservatory, and play the piano, he also had an amazing voice, he was a prodigy, except he had no interest on being discovered. He went downstairs to have breakfast, he greeted his parents, they greeted him back without even looking, he drove to school where nobody was his friend and the teachers usually ignored him although he did have excellent grades, he was "the creepy one" or "the ghost", to all this he was used to so he tried no to care too much.

Today he heard some kids talking about some new girl that had came, her name was Christine Daae, everyone was excited about her arrival because she was a foreigner, not only she came from Sweden, but her father was a famous musician. He didn´t care much though, just another person, no big deal.

During the first break the cafeteria was very crowded, he just took his lunch went to sit by himself on a table at the corner, everyone was around this new girl talking to her and asking her questions like: "Really are you from Sweden?" "How´s your last name pronounced?" "What do you think of America?" "Can I touch you?" At first he didn´t want to look, but he was struck by curiosity, when he saw her, oh God, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, her skin was white though not as much as his, her deep brown eyes showed sweetness and her light brown curls were cute, her face was the sun. He couldn´t help but stare, she was so beautiful but never mind, she would never turn her eyes to him, she would never know that he existed, when everyone left her alone to eat lunch, a blonde girl came to sit and chat with her, her name was Meg Hamilton, she was neither popular or rejected, she was just Meg, all he knew about her was that she was only 17 and already a professional Ballet dancer, Christine seemed to be getting along with her very well, it was obvious that they would end up being best friends, he had two more classes and a second break in which he didn´t see her, his next class was History, we walked past the music room to get there and heard an angelical voice singing, who was this girl he had never heard before? He opened the door a little bit and he couldn´t believe it, Christine Dáae was playing a rather sad melody and singing along. The sound of her voice was so pure he closed his eyes and started fantasizing about embracing her, he almost jumped when the bells rang and ran to History.

The teacher hadn´t arrived yet everyone was chating while he just grabbed a sit and his heart nearly jumped when he saw her entering the room. "Hi Christine! Would you like to sit here next to me?"- Meg called her. "Sure"- she answered kindly and took her seat between Meg and him. Today´s subject was the Napoleonic Empire, Erik´s specialty, but he wasn´t paying much attention, he couldn´t stop staring at her, she was paying attention to the teacher but suddenly she could sense his stare and turned around, her first impression was that he was different, his face a little weird but there was something in him that attracted her, they stared deeply into each other´s eyes for a few moments, it was the first time someone looked him in the eyes.

Mr. Duval, how long did the Napoleonic Empire last?- the teacher made him jump.

11 years, from 1804 to 1815- he calmly responded.

Good, try looking at the board- the teacher said with a funny face at his failure.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

That night, he didn´t sleep much, he was too busy thinking about the eye contact he´d had with Christine, her expression was not one of disgust or fear, but one of kindness and maybe curiosity. On the next day he walked past her at the hallway several times letting himself get charmed my her, he would stand outside the music room listening to her voice, at the cafeteria she was standing next to him serving herself some mashed potatoes when she saw him and recognized him from History class and all the times she had seen him, and for the first time in Erik´s life, someone smiled at him. Yes! Although she just smiled at him and walked away, he felt a little warmth inside of him. It was Tuesday, music day, so he went to play music as usual, little did he know that Christine, because she was being raised by a musician and was so into music, had signed up for lessons right there.

hello! You must be Christine Daae. Welcome to Hartford Conservatory. - the lady at the desk said to her with a smile- I saw your father play the violin on TV and he is so good!

Thank you!- she answered diplomatically, she obviously loved her father and loved to sing with him, but that didn´t mean she wanted to be " Gustave Daae´s daughter" for the rest of her life.

Christine went to the room she was indicated, she liked it here very much, the kids at school had been very friendly, this place was beautiful, she would be getting musical education, it had all been a good start, even the weird kid was nice, well she noticed nobody even dared to look at him, but he seemed nice, she didn´t know why but she had felt attracted to him in away she could not explain, she decided she would investigate maybe with Meg what was with this boy.

Hello! Miss Daae, please come in!- the teacher greeted her happily at the door.- let´s get started, shall we?

First she did some warm up exercises and then she had to play and sing a song of her own so that he could see what her abilities were and what she had to improve.

- you have an amazing voice Miss Daae, but you have to sing a little louder, it doesn´t seem strong enough for your playing, but don´t worry, we will practice that.

After her class finished, she felt like wandering around the conservatory, suddenly, she heard a male voice singing, it was very pure, sweet and hypnotizing, she couldn´t find where it came from, after walking and walking searching for the man who was singing she finally gave up and went home.

On the next day, at lunch, she was chating with Meg when she saw Erik taking his seat at the corner,


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Who ´s that boy?- Christine asked looking at him from behind Meg´s shoulder.

Him? Ugh!- said Meg turning around- his name is Erik, who cares who he is? He is sooo weird!

What? Meg are you sure you ´re not exaggerating? that just sounded a little cruel.

I am perfectly serious Christine, no one ever talks to him, just look at his eyes, he is really scary.

But how do you know what he is like if you never talk to him, maybe he surprises you- Christine said starting to get a little desperate.

Christine, don´t worry about it, if no one likes him it´s because it frightens you only to get close to him.

Shame on you guys.- she said with disappointment still staring at Erik, who noticed this and unconsciously threw a mean look at her.

What was wrong with this people? They literally judged an innocent school boy because of his appearance. Yes, he had an unusual face but he was still a human. Christine was thinking about all this while walking home. And then, this unknown but absolutely marveling male singing voice at the conservatory. She HAD to find out who he was! And Erik? Fine. If no one had the guts to go say hi to him she would. Come on! How hard could that be?

She had to wait at whole weekend to see him at school, she was decided, she started walking towards him first hour on Monday, he shot that look at her again, not really meaning it. Then she panicked and went into another direction! She felt like an idiot, she had it, and she ran away too, just like the others. She was such a coward. She wanted to this, she wanted to resolve this mystery, not to mention that she did feel attracted to him somehow. When she was walking towards him she saw his muscular arms and his entire face , he was handsome she thought, and sexy. God! What am I thinking? It scared her a little to think about someone this way, it was practically her first experience with love and the erotic. She didn´t know of course, it was Erik´s first time as well, his self- esteem was so destroyed he felt nothing for the girls around him, besides, if people are gonna hurt you, you better stay away from them. But Christine was different, she always looked at him with sweetness, and he just couldn´t help it, she was prettier than any other girl at school anyway.

God! She felt like such a coward, she didn´t have the courage to go talk to a boy! Alright, she would try it again and this time she would just do it.

Meanwhile, Erik was thinking on his own too. Had she just tried to tell him something? He saw her, she was walking right towards him, but, then went somewhere else… what would she have to say to him anyway?

The next day she was ready, she had practiced it in front of the mirror (not that she was nervous about talking to him, that would mean she had a crush. Which she hadn´t!).

He was in the cafeteria serving himself some of those terrible mashed potatoes when he heard a girly "Hi!". He turned around immediately to find Christine smiling at him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**He was so shocked but pleased he didn´t know what to say. A long minute passed before he could manage to say "hi" back. **

**So, how´s everything going?- she asked feeling like an idiot, specially because EVERYONE was watching.**

**Eh...fine? – he answered looking around the frozen cafeteria and then thought **_**actually great because I ´m with YOU)**_

**Great! So...(**_**God! What should I say now?) **_**– she just stared at him clueless.**

**And then it hit him. For some unknown reason she was struggling to talk to him. Did she want to be friends? **

"**And how are you?"- he asked by impulse but it helped her a lot.**

"**Fine thank you!"- she answered a bit too happily.**

**He nodded and they stood in an awkward silence which seemed to last 20 minutes. Christine was so nervous she broke it.**

"**Well, see you. Have a nice day!"**

"**Yeah..." was all he could mutter before she took off.**

**Erik couldn´t stop thinking about it for the rest of the day...and the week. She hadn´t tried to talk to him since then but she clearly seemed interested in him in some way for some reason. He just couldn´t figure out which. And to make things worse he noticed the guy he hated the most in this planet besides himself flying around her like a bee on a flower all the time: Raoul Dechangy. Mr. Perfect, the Prince, the guy every girl in school drooled over. And who did he have to choose as his prey? Of course, just his luck, the only girl poor Erik had ever looked at. He didn´t stand a chance against anyone let alone against him. Christine could only be talking and smiling to him out of pity, which it more than he had ever received anyway.**

**On next Tuesday Christine went to her weekly lessons at the conservatory hoping to find out who this mysterious yet captivating voice belonged to. After her lesson finished she took her walk around the place as usual until she heard it. She tried to follow it and ended up in an empty dark corridor, she couldn´t see anything or anyone. It kept singing so deeply and softly she closed her eyes and got lost in its sound. It was bewitching. Suddenly something in the back of her head snapped her eyes open returning her to where she was. She got up the courage and asked with her voice trembling:**

"**Hello? Who is this?"**

**He stopped singing. He couldn´t let her see him. He needed a lot of courage to answer too.**

"**Hello?" she insisted.**

"**Hello." His voice echoed strongly through the walls causing her to shiver.**

"**Who are you?"**

"**I cannot tell you."**

"**Why not?"**

"**It´s for your own good."**

"**What do you mean?"**

"**Trust me, you don´t want to meet me."**

"**Yes I do."**

"**No."**

**Christine decided it was useless to argue with him about that.**

"**You have a beautiful voice sir."**

**What should I say? Thank you?- he thought. It´s not like he got compliments everyday. **

"**You too. I´ve heard you."**

"**Have you?"- he knew her?**

"**Yes."**

"**Not like you however. Will you teach me?"**

**Teach her? She wanted him to teach her? She already had the natural talent, all she had to do was learn to use it. She was like a diamond in the rough. He could help her with that. He just didn´t want her to know he was the creepy boy from school.**

"**Yes, I will. Come here next Tuesday at the same time. We´ll be having regular sessions but you will never see me."**

**Christine was afraid he would change his mind if she tried to argue again so she just said "Thank you" and "Good bye" instead and went home. **

**The next day Erik was afraid to see her at school. He had the paranoia that she would look at his face and magically relate it to his voice and just know it´s him. He was really excited about spending time alone with her but he was afraid of her to see that her faceless teacher was him. He didn´t want her to make that connection. **

**He tried to avoid her all day but he couldn´t. It´s like without intending to she went to the same places as him at the same time. The cafeteria, most of their classes, the library, even when he had to go back to the Math classroom because he forgot his calculator , there she was coming back from the toilet. **

**He was glaring at her. His only response and defence method was to glare at her. He glared at her every time they met. And all Christine could think was that he hated her. With all his guts. Of course she knew she hadn´t done anything to him. But maybe he really was bad and found it annoying when she talked to him. So she decided she would stop. It hurt her a bit because she did want to be his friend even if she didn´t know what to do with the fact that he physically attracted her. **

**The next Tuesday she was excited to go her singing lessons with Face. He sang like a male angel. She just loved his voice and was happy that he agreed to teach her. She entered the room where she had heard him the last time.**

"**Hello?"**

**She sensed someone jump a little.**

"**Hello. Come in."**

**He had found the perfect place to hide so he could be in the same room as her and she would never guess where he was standing. Yet he was still very nervous.**

**She entered and as soon as she closed the door he said "Let´s begin."**

**She stared around the room trying to find him. He could see her but she couldn´t see him .She ended up in the centre of the room and looked around expectantly. **

"**So...what do you want me to do?"**

**Erik who had been quiet snapped out and remembered he was supposed to give her lessons.**

"**Right."- he said with his best masculine voice- "I have a piano here with me, I will play and you will start practicing your scales with my music."**

**Part of her didn´t want to sing in front of him, she felt like a crappy singer next to him. It embarrassed her. **

"**Uhmm...is that alright?"- he said when she didn´t answer.**

"**W-what? Oh yeah, sure."**

**He started playing the scales and she followed them with her voice. He almost stopped playing at her sounds. He just wanted to sit there and get embraced by her voice. But he had to concentrate. He couldn´t give himself away. **

**When they finished she nervously asked:**

"**Was that okay?"**

_**Absolutely divine.**_

"**Yes, yes that was good. Now...uhm is there any song in particular you would like to practice?"**

_**Please don´t recognize me. Please don´t recognize me.**_

"**Well there is one my father taught me. It´s called Angel of Music. "**

"**Alright then, start singing it and I´ll follow your compass."**

**She took a breath and began:**

_**Father once spoke of an Angel**_

_**I used to dream he´d appear**_

_**Now as I sing I can sense him**_

_**And I know he´s here**_

**Erik tried to pay attention to the notes but found the lyrics more interesting. Christine kept on singing without realising what the song might imply.**

_**Here in this room, he calls me softly**_

_**Somewhere inside, hiding**_

_**Somehow I know he´s always with me**_

_**He, the unseen genius**_

**She was so nervous her voice started to crack which made her even more nervous. She stopped.**

"**I´m so sorry. It happens when I try to sing loud enough."**

"**It´s...it´s okay. Really. Y-you, you just have to be more confident about it."Right. **_**He **_**could talk about confidence. "Please, just give me the last stroke."**

**How could she say no to that. He had just adopted such a sweet, comforting tone of voice.**

_**Angel of music, guide and guardian**_

_**Grant to me your glory**_

_**Angel of music, hide no longer**_

_**Secret and strange angel**_

**And without thinking he responded her singing:**

_**I am your Angel of Music**_

_**Come to the Angel of Music**_

_**I am your Angel of Music**_

_**Come to the Angel of Music**_


End file.
